Press Information Bureau Government of IndiaMinistry of Defence19-December-2013 14:53 IST

Achievements of Ministry of Defence During the Year 2013

YEAR END REVIEW - 2013

Reaching out to
innumerable victims of the devastating flash floods & landslides of
Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh that struck on 16/17thJune by mounting the biggest ever Rescue &
Relief operations in these two States by the Indian Armed Forces was the most
visible achievement of the year. The eventful year also saw augmentation of
Nation’s defence preparedness by adding new weapon. In defence R&D,
successful test flight of 5000 Km range ICBM Agni-V, launching of long-range
cruise missile Nirbhoy and continued successful user trials of Agni-II,
Agni-III, Agni-IV, Prithvi-II, Supersonic BrahMos and Beyond Visual Range missile
“Astra” during the year displayed the nation’s prowess and self-reliance in
advanced missile technology development programme.

The year also
witnessed capacity building in existing and new strategic areas through
acquisitions and development of new weapons / platforms which include
commissioning of India’s biggest aircraft carrier 44,500 tonne capacity INS
Vikramaditya on 16th November, preceded by thelaunching of India’s own IAC-INS Vikrant and
commissioning of deadly Mig-29K squadron into the Indian Navy. Similarly,
induction of first P-8I Boeing aircraft into the Navy alongwith joining of C-17
Globemaster-III and Pilatus PC-7MKII aircraft into the Indian Air Force
consolidated our hold in different strategic, logistics and training arena. The
nuclear reactor fitted in the indigenous nuclear powered submarine INS Arihant,
in the making, attaining criticality also pointed towards this end. The year
gone by also saw systematic force projection of our Armed Forces in India’s
neighborhood and far off Asian Region by engaging them through military
exercises and defence diplomacy, when Indian Navy perhaps undertook a record
number of exercises with foreign Navies to build Navy to Navy co-operation,
understanding and inter-operability. The Indian Army and IAF also supplemented
these efforts by undertaking a number of military exercises with their friendly
foreign counterparts. In this contextour prowess in fire powers, anti-terrorist operations and network
centricwarfare were amply
demonstrated by IAF exercises ‘Iron Fist’ and ‘Live Wires’ and Army’s
biggestwar game exercises Indra and
Indo-French exercises ‘Shakti-2013’.

The nation achieved spectacular progress in
strengtheningcoastalsecurity
network, ex-servicemen’s welfare, and its journey towards modernisation and indigenization
of Indian defence industry complex by adopting a policy of ‘Swadeshi’ where
transparency and accountability were the hallmarks.

Along with these highs, there were some lows too. The
sudden and unprovoked attack from the Pakistan Army in the guise of armed
infiltration in the Line of Control in Poonch and later in Keran sector of
J&K brought disquiet into the region. Though our soldiers retaliatedthese
recurrent attacks with full force at their command, yet there was no stopping
of ceasefire violations from Pakistan side, which kept happening almost all
through the year. The thawin India-China border relations was also
broken in April when Indian Army was once again challenged by China’s Peoples’
Liberation Army (PLA) by their repeated incursions into Ladakh Sector on the
LAC. Thankfully after the face –off between the troops on both sides for nearly
one month, both sides simultaneously withdrew from the contentious areas of LAC
in this sector.

The devastating fire accident in our frontline
submarine INS Sindhurakshak and it’s going downunder the sea in Mumbai
Naval Dockyard in August this year was another big loss to the Indian Navy. The
Board of Inquiry instituted by the Government to find out the cause of this
mishap hopefully will look into all angles of the accident and suggest measures
so that the same is not repeated in the fighting arm of the Navy.

Reaching
out to the People in Distress

A cloud burst and
torrential rain took thousands of tourists and pilgrims by surprise in
Uttarakhand & Himachal Pradesh in the third week of June. Immediately, the
Armed Forces were called by the state Government of these two states for
rescuing its citizens and tourists from some of the most dangerous terrains
devastated by floods & landslides. Within no time, the Forces sprang into
action and launched the biggest rescue operation conducted by the defence and para-military
forces anywhere in the world. The troops from Central Command of the Army
launched the biggest rescue and relief operation ‘Rahat’ in collaboration with
ITBP, BRO and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on June 17. Sensing the
gravity of the situation, IAF mobilised 54 transport aircrafts and helicopters
for rescue efforts, which also included stationing a gigantic strategic
airlifter C-17 Super Hercules in Jolly Grant, Dehradun airfield to evacuate the
stranded tourists and general people to safer places. Indian Navy also deployed
its marine commandos on 25th June, which with foot soldiers of the
Army, rescued hundreds of pilgrims and evacuated thousands to safer places.

Our Armed Forces’ laudable role and conduct of operations to minimise
the effects of cyclone ‘Phailin’, which struck the Odisha & Andhra Pradesh Coast
in the fateful evening of 12th October also came for universal
praise and commendation from all quarters.

New Milestones in Defence
R&D

Agni –V: India reiterated its
expertise in high end missile technology when the second test flight of over
5000 Km Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) Agni-V proved successful on
15th September. The missile designed by the DRDO and launched from Wheeler
Islandoff Odisha Coast reached the
pre-designed target point, over 5000 Km away, in the Indian Ocean, incorporated
many indigenous technologies. These include the composite rocket motor,
state-of-the-art avionics, 5th generation on-board computer
distributed architecture, highly accurate laser Gyro-based Inertial Navigation
System (RINS), reliable redundant micro-navigation system and the re-entry kit
shield that withstands temperature of more than 4000 degrees Celsius ensuring
that avionics function smoothly by maintaining an inside temperature less than
50 degrees Celsius.

After successful test firing of
Agni-V, DRDO now aims for 10,000 Km range Inter –Continental Ballistic Missile
(ICBM), which according to its Chief would be preceded by above 6000Km range Agni-VI to be launched soon.

In the meantime the
training and user trials of Agni-II, Agni-III and Agni-IV of varying ranges as
well as supersonic 300 Km range BrahMos and Prithvi–II have been successfully
accomplished in the year. All these missiles which were tested by the users,
the Strategic Forces Command of Indian Army, in the presence of scientists and
engineers of DRDO and other collaborating laboratories.

LCA programme finally out of woods:
The much awaited and long-delayed indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)
project for the Indian Air Force undertaken by the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
(HAL) with its tech partner DRDO finally will see the light of the day, as its
initial operational clearance-II is scheduled on 20th December to be
held at HAL, Bangalore.

The LCA ‘Tejas’, a
fourth generation fighter aircraft is meant to meet the versatile and stringent
requirements of the Indian Air Force as its front-line multi mission aircraft.
Besides developing the fighter version, Aeronautics Development Agency (ADA),
the main lab for DRDO incharge of designing and making this metal bird, is alsonow fully engaged in developing LCA Trainer for IAF and LCA Navy
Trainer.

The weaponisation programme, the focus of the
current IOC phase of LAC attained a significant milestone by the successful and
flawless firing of the air-to-air close combat missile, weapon carriage and
release trials. Recently, initial block of flight testing of LCA Naval variant
(NP-1) has been successfully completed. Successful Night Flying of LCA has been
yet another achievement. Thus the programme is moving towards certification
leading to Final Operational Clearance (FOC), which is expected towards the end
of next year.

INS
Vikrant Launched:India launched its first indigenous aircraft carrier
INS Vikrant on August 12 at Kochi marking the end of Phase-I (IAC-I) of the
project. The imposing ramp of the 37,500 tonner Short Take Off But Assisted
Recovery (STOBAR) carrier boasted indigenous design and built capabilities of
the country.

Atomic
Reactor of ‘Arihant’ went critical:In adding another feather to its crown of superior state-of-the-art
nuclear technology, Indian defence scientists and technologists successfully
activated the atomic reactor on board INS Arihant in early August. The next
major milestone would be when Arihant begins its trials, which has been planned
for September
2014. The nuclear submarine will go for extensive trials before it becomes
operational with the Indian Navy.

New Weaponary/Platforms to Strengthen Defence
Preparedness

INS
Vikramaditya:India finally
commissioned its second aircraft carrier 44,500 tonne INS Vikramaditya into the
Indian Navy at the Sevmash Shipyard in Severodvinsk in Russia on 16th
November when Defence Minister Shri AK Antony commissioned the carrier after
its extensive refurbishment and refit over the past few years. The Carrier, in
its previous avtar as Admiral Gorshkov, can carry over 30 combat
aircraft/helicopters and has the staying power of operating nearly 45 days in
high seas with its 1600 crew & officers. It is equipped with long range Air
Surveillance Radars, Advanced electronic warfare suite capable of maintaining a
surveillance bubble of over 500 Kms around it. The deadly Mig -29K deep
penetration striker aircraft, Kamov-31, Sea Harriers and ALH Dhruv helicopters
comprise its air element. The ship is also equipped with the state-of-the-art
launch and recovery system along with aids to enable smooth and efficient
operation of sea-borne aircraft. The carrier which is now sailing towards India
is expected to arrive in mid February 2014 and will be based at Karwar Naval
Base in the Western Coast.

C-17
Globemaster III

Giving
impetus to the long standing strategic airlift of the Indian Air Force, the
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III was formally inducted into the IAF on 02 September
at Hindon Airbase near Delhi. Four of the C-17 have been already delivered to
the IAF and the fifth aircraft joined the fleet in November.

Pilatus PC 7
MK II Basic Trainer Inducted

The
IAF’s premier flying Academy located at Dundigal, Hyderabad witnessed the
unveiling of Pilatus PC7MKII basic trainer aircraft, which heralded a new era
in imparting high quality flying training to budding pilots ensuring
proficiency in handling more sophisticated aircraft.

Boeing P-8I
Arrives at INS Rajali

The
first of the three Boeing P-8I aircraft for the Indian Navy arrived at INS
Rajali, Arakonam on 15th May. The P-8I aircraft based on the Boeing
737-800(NG) airframes is equipped with an array of sensors for maritime
reconnaissance, anti-submarine operations and for electronic intelligence
missions. The aircraft has drawn its lethality from its arsenal of highly
potent Anti-Surface and Anti-Submarine weapons.

Advanced Jet
Trainers (AJT) inducted

The
Indian Navy inducted the first fully Indian manufactured Hawk Advanced Jet
Trainer (AJT) at INS Dega, Vishakhapatnam on 06 November.

ALH–Dhruv
Squadron Commissioned

The first Advanced
Light Helicopter (Dhruv) Squadron was commissioned into the Navy at Kochi on 12
November.

Mig -29K
Squadron Commissioned

INAS 303, the first Mig 29K squadron was
commissioned on 11th May 2013 by the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony
at INSA Hansa, Goa. Mig-29K, arguably one of the best in the subcontinent today
is equipped with high-end avionics completed with anti-aircraft beyond visual
range missiles, guided anti-ship missile and smart guided bombs and rockets.

Launching of
GSAT-7satellite

Launching of GSAT-7, a dedicated communication
satellite for the Indian Navy on 30 August gave a boost to realization of
Navy’s network centric war capability based on an indigenous platform. With
multiple transponders in various frequency bands, the satellite will provide
voice and data communication and hence will help in seamless integration among the
various command centres and Naval Units operating across the IOR.

INS Sarayu
Commissioned

INS
Sarayu, the lead ship of the indigenous Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel (NOPV)
Project was commissioned on 21 January. Aimed at meeting the increasing ocean
surveillance and patrolling requirements of the Indian Navy, the primary role
of the ship is to undertake EEZ surveillance, anti-piracy patrols, fleet
support operations and provide maritime security to offshore assets and carry out
escort operations for high value assets.

INS Trikand
Commissioned

INS
Trikand, the last of the three ‘follow on Talwar class’ frigates was
commissioned into the Indian Navy at Kaliningrad, Russia on 29 June. It carries
a state-of-the-art combat suite which includes the supersonic BrahMos Missile
system, advanced surface-to-air missile, upgraded A190 medium range gun,
Electro-optical 30mm close-in weapon system and Anti-submarine weapons and an
advanced electronic warfare system. Her sister ships INS Teg and INS Tarkash
were commissioned last year.

IAF- launches
its 3G WCDMA Cellular Network Project

The Indian Air Force launched its 3G
Cellular Network named AFCEL (Air Force Cellular) recently, thereby, becoming
the first in the Services to have commissioned its own captive 3G network.
Launching of phase-I of AFCEL in the National Capital Region is a milestone in
the IAF’s transformation into a modern, networked aerospace entity with full
spectrum dominance. With this project IAF has taken a quantum leap forward to
their quest to provide mobile and secure entry-point connectivity to the air
warriors deployed across the length and breadth of the country as it will
facilitate real time exchange of information in an ever dynamic operational
environment.

International
Co-operation through Exercises & Defence Co-op. Talks

During the year, the Indian Army, to
develop Army to Army understanding and inter-operability, conducted bilateral
exercises with China, France, UK, Russia and Nepal. India-China joint exercises
Hand-in-Hand 2013 conducted in Chengdu Province of China culminated on 13 Nov.
This battalion level exercise practiced the joint operations on Cordon &
Search in international scenario. Exercise ‘Ajeya Warrior’, a four week Indo-UK
joint military exercise, also aimed at enhancing counter terrorism skills. In
October Indian and Russian armies conducted a joint exercise, Indra, at Mahajan
field firing range in Thar Desert of Rajasthan. The event saw both sides
perform various combat exercises including anti-terrorist operations. It also
saw a joint Indo-Russian command planning. A joint exercise between India and
the French armies was organised from September 9-20 in the French Alps at
Grenoble.

As
friendly neighbours, an Indo-Nepal battalion level joint military exercise,
Surya Kiran-V was conducted at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand from 23 September -
06 October.

Based
on the agreement during the 7th Nepal-India Bilateral Consultative
Group on Security the two countries commenced joint training at platoon level
in 2011. The first two joint exercises focused primarily on jungle warfare and
counter-insurgency operation. Troops shared their experiences and exhibited
skill sets during training at Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at
Vairangate in Mizoram and a similar school at Amlekhganj in Nepal. Later, the
joint training was upgraded to company level in 2012 and based on experiences
gained in previous two exercises, it was further upgraded to battalion level
this year.

In
a bid to further strengthen the existing Indo-French relationship, a joint
exercise between India and the French Army called ‘Shakti – 2013’ was organised
from 9 – 20 September at Jodhpur which is the second joint military exercise
between the two countries.

This
platoon level exercise’s theme was on counter-insurgency operations in high altitude
mountainous terrain under the UN Charter, thus emphasizing the shared concern
of both countries about global terrorism. An added aim of the exercise is to
qualitatively acknowledge of each other’s military procedures, thus increasing
the scope for inter-operability and better responsiveness to a common
threat.

Record
Exercises with Foreign Navies

In its endeavour to build Navy to
Navy co-operation, understanding and inter-operability, the Indian Navy held
military exercises with Navies of numerous friendly countries. These included:

·CORPAT – These Co-ordinated Patrols
(CORPAT) with maritime neighbours of India not only strengthened naval
co-operation with our neighbours but also helped in developing trust and
confidence among participant countries.

·First India –Myanmar Navy
Co-ordinated Patrol in March 13 with the aim of flushing out extremists
operating from Myanmar soil and Navy-to-Navy understanding was successfully
conducted.

·Indo-Thai bilateral naval exercise in
April and November.

·India-Indonesia bilateral naval
exercise in May and September.

·India-RSN (Republic of Singapore
Navy) exercise SIMBEX in May.

·Bilateral naval exercise ‘Naseem Al
Bahar’ between India and Royal Navy of Oman on 11 September.

·India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime
Exercise ‘IBSA mar’ was conducted among Indian, Brazilian and South African
Navies in the IOR. The exercise is the maritime element of the regional
co-operation initiative among these three countries.

Exercise
on the anvil

The 13th Meeting of
India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Technical
Co-operation (IRIGC-MTC) was held at Moscow in November co-chaired by the
Defence Minister Shri AK Antony with his Russian counterpart Mr. Sergey Shiogu.
The meeting which gave a new impetus to the relationship decided that the two
countries will hold joint Air-Force level exercises, for the first time besides
a joint Navy exercise in the Peter the Great Bay in the Sea of Japan, both in
2014.

IAF
under Transformation

As the Indian Air Force (IAF) celebrates
its 81st anniversary, it is conscious of the transformation it has
been undergoing since 1995 where it wrote its first war doctrine, purchased
Sukhoi-30 aircraft from Russia, raised the pitch for aerospace command and
formally shed its tactical role for a strategic one.

Keeping in view the rapidly changing
geo-political situation and to fulfil its new operational stance, the IAF has
taken a number of steps related to its force level, infrastructure development,
force multipliers, training and most importantly its mindsetfrom a tactical to a strategic entity.

Besides inducting AWACS and AEW&C for better early warning and
assured air defence, net centricity for better command, control,
communications, computers and intelligence gathering, better strategic lift
capabilities and advanced electronic warfare, are now the buzz words in the
IAF.

In addition to tying up with Russia to develop and manufacture state-of-the-art
5th Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), India has also collaborated
with Russia for development of a multi-role transport aircraft. The design
preparation and allied works relating to FGFA has picked up the momentum after
satisfactory high level defence talks with Russia which was held in Moscow in
November. Besides these, IAF has planned to upgrade select Mig-21 Bis, Mig-27,
Mig-29, Mirage-2000 and Jaguar fleets and has taken steps to further compress
the delivery schedule of HAL Built Su-30 MK-II, besides 40 more acquired from
Russia.

Developing
Strategic Partnership

Working in tune with its ‘Look East Policy’, India has started forging
strategic partnership with countries of Far East and ASEAN. In this context,
India’s willingness to co-operate with Vietnam Republic in helping it exploring
oil from the South China Sea is significant. Similarly its relations with
Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal and Afghanistan
is steadily growing through bi-lateral exercises and fruitful defence
co-operation talks in the form of defence exchanges, training and other areas.

India’s bilateral defence ties with US, UK, France, Turkey, Australia,
Brazil, South Africa, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Iran, Germany,
Russia, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Oman etc. is growing over the years. Indo-French
High Committee on Defence Co-operation which met in October this year decided
to further strength the ties in different fields which include joint research
& development in high technology and transfer of technology, defence
equipment collaboration, training and close navy-to-navy interaction in matters
like joint exercises and defence exchanges. Already France is committed to
manufacture and handover of three state-of-the-art lethal Scorpene submarines
and another three will be built at Mazagon Dock Ltd, Mumbai with active French
collaboration and TOT.

Coastal Security Initiatives

Drawing lessons from 26/11 terrorist attacks on Mumbai in 2008, the Govt.
took a number of security measures to close the gaps in India’s vast coastline
and strengthen the coastal security apparatus in a planned manner by involving
all stakeholders in this endeavour. Under Phase-I of the Coastal Surveillance
Network Project installation of 36 radar chain to have a gap free Coastal
Surveillance Network (CSN) was envisaged. In the first Phase of the project, the
coastal States/UTs were provided with 73 coastal police stations, 97 Check
Posts, 58 Out Posts, 30 Barracks, 204 boats, 153 jeeps and 312 motorcycles.

The completion of the phase-I of the project at a cost of Rs. 646 crores
on the Indian mainland took place when MoS, Defence, Mr Jitendra Singh
inaugurated the static sensor chain at Visakhapatnam on 23 November. India has
already a chain of 36 radars along the Maharashtra, Gujarat and Kerala coast.

In the phase-II of CSN which will cost Rs. 1580 crores, we will have
another 38 radars chain to cover the rest of the 7,500 Km long coastline. The
Indian Coast Guard was delegated to implement the project. For this, the Govt.
had signed the contract with the state owned Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) in
Sept 2011 at a cost of Rs 602 crores considering the strategic nature of the
turnkey project and with an aim to develop indigenous capabilities. Under this
scheme, the coastal States/UTs interalia are provided with 131 coastal police
stations, 10 Marine Operation Police Centres (MOCPs), 60 jetties, 225 boats of
various categories and a lump sum assistance of Rs. 15 lakhs per coastal police
station to develop its infrastructure.

Linking up the National Automatic Identification System Network (AIS) and
Vessel Traffic System (VTS) off Gulf of Khambat with the Coastal Security
Network would help the security forces in identifying a friend or foe in the
Indian waters.

Of late, a worrisome trend is the problem of tackling the issue of
Private Armed Security Guards on board Commercial ships in international waters
as well as territorial waters. The urgent need to regulate these ‘floating armouries’
has assumed significance in the backdrop of two recent incidents close to
Indian Coast. A high level meeting on Coastal Security convened at Delhi by the
MoD recently decided to take up this issue of Private Armed Security Guards
with international fora such as International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Welfare
of Jawans & Ex-Servicemen

Welfare and all-round well being of ex-servicemen and war widows have
been the cornerstone of our rehabilitation policy since independence.

In our ongoing effort to improve the well being of jawans, the govt has
further widened the scope of ECHS (Employees Contributed Health Scheme) and
established more polyclinics and regional health centres. To improve the living
and working conditions of jawans, several steps have been taken to improve the quality
of rations, accommodations and clothing. For soldiers deployed in high altitude
areas, warm clothings, special shoes and attractive monthly compensatory
allowances have been provided. To protect the officers, jawans and other ranks
posted in very high altitudes from mental and physical fatigue, liberal leave
facilities as well as rotation of personnel at regular intervals have been given
high priority. To reduce the stress levels of jawans so as to avoid stray cases
of fragging and fratricide, Counselling Centres have been established at
different levels manned by professional psychologists and psychiatrists
starting from unit to command level.

MAP:-
To overcome the acute shortage of accommodation for servingdefence personnel, Married AccommodationProject (MAP) was started by the Govt. in
2002. In this project, totalling two lakh dwelling units (DUs) were supposed to
have been constructed. After implementation of Phase-I of the project,
approximately 60,000 dwelling units have been constructed. This has enhanced
the satisfaction level with regard to availability of married accommodation to
60%. In the second phase of MAP, construction of about 68,400 DUs is going on
at different places and on their completion, satisfaction level will increase
to 72%. In addition, construction of 71,000 DUs of Phase-III is now under
planning. On completion of all the phases of the project, the satisfaction
levels will reach 85%.

For ex-servicemen welfare, Govt. has taken a number of steps to further
improve their pension. For this, a high level committee was constituted by the
Govt. in 2012 to look after the pay and pension anomalies of armed forces
personnel and family pensions etc. Acting upon the recommendations of the
committee, the Govt. further liberalised the pension amount for different types
of ex-servicemen pensioners last year which costs the exchequer of
approximately Rs 2200 crores.

OTHER
IMPORTANT EVENTS/PROGRAMMES

1.To give further encouragement to
promote indigenisation and developing Indian defence industrial base in the
country, the Government promulgated amended Defence Procurement Procedure 2013
on 01 June, where a number of concessions and priorities have been given to ‘Buy
Indian’ and ‘Buy and Make’(Indian) categories, besides bringing further
clarity in the definition of the Indigenous Content and simplifying the Buy and
Make (Indian) process. Other significant changes include incorporation of the
new offset policy guidelines which were promulgated in August 2012 and revision
of the chapter on Ship-building which had been introduced in the DPP 2011. The
Ministry has also undertaken the exercise of further simplification of the Make
procedures and revision of the Fast Track Procedures which is likely to be
completed in the near future.

2.Indian Air Force formally bade
farewell to its Mig-21 (FL) fleet, after the fleet’s glorious service to the
nation for more than thirty years, in December this year. Their place will be
filed up by the LCA fighter version in near future.

3.India signed the much awaited Border
Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDC) with China during the Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh’s visit to China in October. The agreement is expected to bring
in a relatively peaceful and intrusion free LAC in the northern sector. The
agreement lays out a protocol to prevent incidents like intrusion, when Chinese
troops came and pitched tents inside Indian territories in August/September.

4.On July 02, 2013, India unveiled the
much awaited National Cyber Security Policy to create a secure cyber eco-system
in the country.

5.Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Rajdoot’,
the sixth in the series of light Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPVs) designed and
built by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata was
commissioned at Kolkata in May 2013.

6.The Naresh Chandra
Task Force constituted by the Govt. on national security and higher defence
management submitted its recommendations, where among others, it has
recommended to create the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in the Indian
Armed Forces.

7.The first NCC
National Games was held in Delhi in November where 1900 boys and girls athletes
from 17 NCC directorates, from all the States and Union Territories took part.
The eight day long Games was inaugurated by the DG, NCC Lt. Gen P.S. Bhalla
amidst much grandeur and fanfare.

8.The foundation
stone for India’s first National Defence University (INDU) was laid by the
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in Binola, near Gurgaon in May 23, 2013 in
the presence of high dignitaries including the Defence Minister.

12.Defence Minister
Shri AK Antony dedicated to the Nation the new Air Force Station at Thanjavur
in Tamil Nadu on 27th May 2013 where a special runway has been made
for the operation of Su-30 MK-I fighter aircraft.

13.Defence Minister
visited Maldives in April 2013.

14.Defence Minister
visited Myanmar on January 21, 2013.

15.Commissioning of
Indian Coast Guard Ship Rajkamal was held in 08 January 2013.

17.The 9th
edition of Asia’s biggest air show ‘Aero-India’ -2013 took place in Bangalore
in February 2013, where 44 countries took part. Defence Minister Shri AK Antony
inaugurated this mega event where in the Air show vintage Tiger Moth aircraft
made its flight appearance after a gap of 22 years.

18.HAL formally handed
over to Army the weaponised edition of ALH-Dhruv as ‘ALH MK-IV Rudra’ on 08
February 2013 at Bangalore.

19.Commissioning of
Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Rajratan’ held on 11 February 2013.

20.Chinese Defence
Minister with a delegation visited India on 22nd March 2013 and
India-China Talks on Defence co-operation held in Delhi.